“Going somewhere, Princess?” He grins up at me.
“Let go!” I try to shake him off, but his grip is strong, and we’ve woken the others.
“I think not. Hey boys, Her Ladyship here was trying to make a run for it!”
“No, I…I just needed to use the ladies room.”
“Then I’ll take you.” He sits up, knowing he’s called my bluff.
“I’ll take her.” Jack stands, oddly coming to my aid again for a third time. He walks me under the shutter towards some bushes.
“Seriously? You want me to go here?”
“Up to you.” He shrugs.
“Can you at least look away?”
“Yes. But if you run, I’ll be forced to chase you and believe me, I’m faster than I look.”
Taking a position behind the thickest bush, I feel violated. My father would go crazy if he knew how they’re treating me.
“Can you at least whistle or something?”
“You whistle, that way I know you’re still back there,” he suggests.
“Hmmm.” I frown before having the quickest wee in history. I take in my surroundings; to my disappointment we seem to be in the middle of nowhere. There’s an old derelict house attached to the garage. It looks like no one’s lived here in years. I hum to the song that Ash and I danced to in the tree house, when the world looked amazing and I wasn’t pretending to be having a wee behind a dead bush. I step out from my hiding place.
“You have a nice voice.” Jack says, momentarily taking me off guard.
“Err, thanks. Look Jack, you don’t want to do this, please…let me go? Tell them I ran.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because deep down you’re a good person.” I put my hand on his arm, but he pulls away.
“Don’t.”
“I see it in your eyes, you’re not like them. You don’t want to do this do you? I know you’re scared.”
“You don’t know me. You know nothing, you’ve been nothing but trouble since you came into his life.”
“Are you doing this because you hate Ash? Because going to prison seems like a hell of a way to give him that message. Hating him because your brother does seem pretty lame.” I won’t give up on him. I know I can get him to listen.
“See, you know nothing.”
“Please, Jack. Please let me go. You’ll be free to live a normal life….” He looks like he’s thinking about it. “Please, say I tricked you…say I ran.”
“You could try.” He smirks. “They’d never believe that. I’ve been school champion for the last three years at the hundred metres.”
“And you leave school this year…this will ruin any chances you have at a career.”
He sighs and in that tiny sigh, I see hope. I’m getting through to him. He’s just a victim too, bullied by Bruno. I must keep trying with him because he’s looking like my only option.
* * * *
Daylight streaks in underneath the shutter. I didn’t let myself go back to sleep.
“So, you and Ashes, huh?” Bruno hands me a muffin, which I’m thankful for. I wasn’t expecting them to feed me at all.
“I don’t know to what you are referring.” I concentrate on pulling my muffin apart.
“You and him, you two are like doing it?” He smirks, and I remember even though he looks much older than his years and is the total definition of the rugby player cliché, he’s still just in high school, still immature. I want to slap that smirk right off his stupid face. Doesn’t he know he’s throwing his life away?
“Doing what?” I open my eyes extra wide.
“Aww don’t play all innocent. You may be a royal but even you must have needs. And if Ashes isn’t providing for those needs, then I will offer myself as a sacrifice.” He winks, biting into his muffin and noisily slopping it around. I look away as I can see the entire contents of his mouth.
“Leave her alone, Bruno.” Jack says. “Remember we’re here for the money, nothing more. Keep your head straight.”
“My brother, always watching my back.” Bruno winks at Jack, who rolls his eyes in return.
“I’m off to stretch my legs,” Jack announces. Panic consumes me; I really don’t want him to leave. He disappears under the shutter and I feel sick. My mind keeps wandering back to Ash. Is he okay? Did he suffer serious injuries? This is entirely my fault. If I hadn’t run away from my duties, Ash would never have tried to defend me. But then I would have never met him…
“So, Elle, may I call you Elle?”
“No.”
“Well Elle, I guess it’s just you and me now.”
“And me.” The fridge-sized guy ducks back under the shutter.
“Great.” I cross my arms and plonk myself on the sun lounger, praying they won’t come any closer.
What’s taking the police so long? Will my parents be worried? I bet my sister’s in tears. This is my fault. It’s my fault that Ash is hurt, my fault for being a spoilt brat. I mean, did I really think that I could be just a normal girl in love with a normal boy? And I really do love him. Against my better judgement, I ignored my head and listened to my heart. This is crazy! I never meant to fall for him, he just made it too easy and now I may never get to tell him. If I get out of this mess, then my father will be even more protective. My golden cage will be locked for good. Now I’ll never be free.
12: Ash
I didn’t sleep at all last night. I did a lot of pacing. Those two cops outside were just like being back in that tiny room at the station. I know they’re waiting for me to trip up somehow. I crawled out of the barn via a secret loose piece of wood that’s hidden by a few bales of piled up hay. Fitting through the hole was much easier when I was a skinny kid, but everyday work on the farm gives me a complete body workout. It was a real effort to squeeze through this time. I mean, I’m no Bruno in the bulging biceps department, but I can hold my own.
I searched for her all night. Needing to feel useful, hoping that my brothers hadn’t taken her far. I went to every farm and outhouse I could think of. I even went to the houses of a few of Bruno’s mates and peered through all the windows. I found nothing, not one clue that would take me to Ellie. A week ago, we hadn’t even met. I never imagined loving someone as deeply as this. And now I can’t imagine not loving her. For them to take her from me is unbearable. Having something, then losing it is worse than never having it at all.
If they’ve hurt her, I’ll rip them apart and feed them to the pigs. I’m barely controlling my anger right now. I don’t know if I can wait until midnight not knowing what they’ve done to her. And if I get her back, she’ll still have to leave me and marry some prince she barely knows. He could never love her the way that I do.
“Ash? Are you in here?” I hear Gerry as I squeeze back through the little hole into the barn.
“Here.” I pant.
“What on Earth are you doing back there?” He walks around the hay bales and peers down at me. “You went looking for her, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” I stand, dusting off the dirt from my knees and palms.
“There’s nothing you can do until tonight. I promise you it’ll be alright.” He looks over his glasses at me.
“You can’t promise that.”
“I just feel it.”
“But you can’t ‘feel’ where they’re holding her?” I huff.
“It doesn’t work like that. My abilities are limited…”
“Limited? So, you’re not an angel then?” I check on Gus and he’s still sleeping, without a care in the world. Lucky pig.
“No, Ash. I’m not an angel.”
“So, what? A leprechaun? A magic imp? A figment of my imagination?”
“I’m your…your Fairy Godfather.” He throws his hands up. “There, I’ve broken rule number one. Are you happy now?”
“Yeah right and I’m the Pope’s son.” I shake my head. “Look I have stuff to do. So, if you don’t mind…”
“It’s okay. I’ve already seen
to all the animals and I also took the liberty of ploughing the outer fields. Oh, and your hen house roof is fixed, no more foxes in there…”
“And how did you manage all of that before sunrise?” I cross my arms tightly. This guy is unreal.
“I simply clicked my fingers.”
“And now you’re messing with me. After all I’ve gone through…is this funny to you? What, did your nursing home get boring? Did you get sick of playing chess? Thought you were on my side. Guess I was wrong.”
“Ash, I never lie. I am what I say.” He looks wounded.
“Don’t fairies just exist in kids’ books? Where’s your wand?”
“Wands are so old-fashioned.”
“Okay. Enough’s enough. You’ve had your fun. I’m tired. I suggest you leave. Maybe you’re just lonely or maybe you need professional help? Sorry, but I must think of Ellie now. I can’t worry about you. Thanks for everything, but I don’t need more lies…”
“Do you need a comfy bed to nap on?” He clicks his fingers and my old, shabby mattress morphs into a luxury four-poster bed, with silk purple sheets and plush pillows.
“What the hell?” I shut my eyes and open them again.
“And how about a big breakfast before your nap?” With a click of his fingers, the little table transforms into a fine dining table with six cushion-backed red, velvet chairs. Waiting for me, are plates piled high with various mouth-watering foods. “A meal fit for a king.” He grins.
“Holy shit, Gerry! You really are a Fairy Godfather! I mean,” I rake my palms through my hair, “I mean, holy shit!”
“So, you believe me?”
“I can’t get my head around this…shit, Gerry!”
“Language.”
“Sorry. Wow! How come you don’t just zap everything, I mean, you could rule the bloody world.”
“Like I said, my powers are limited. Let’s sit, shall we?” We both take a seat at the table and I can’t help but dive into the bacon strips. He tucks a napkin into his collar. “I am old now. You are my last project.” Picking up a teapot, he pours himself a cup.
“Wait.” I stop chewing. “I’m a project?”
“It’s all a bit messy really. The Fairy Godmother assigned to your birth mother, well she went off the rails a little. Leaving me with an utter nightmare to clean up.”
“My mother had…? How come?” I put the bacon down ready to give this story my full attention. Any links to my birth parents deserves that. I never knew anything about them.
“It was never meant to be like this.” He sighs, places his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. “When your real mother was younger she ended up with the wrong man. You see, Glenda, the Fairy Godmother for your mother’s case, broke the most important unbreakable rule. She did the unthinkable by falling in love with the man meant to be with your poor mother. This broke your mother’s heart sending her into the arms of the nearest man for comfort. The man she was destined for, who Glenda tried to claim for herself, was actually a prince.”
“So, my birth mum would have been royal…I would, should have been royal?”
“I’m afraid so. You should have grown up to be the prince whom Elle met at a charity ball and instantly fell in love with. But your poor mother was left to bring you up alone. She was very young and couldn’t cope. It almost killed her when she had to give you up.”
“Oh.” I take a bread roll and start breaking it into a bowl of soup that I have no intention of eating. “So…I would never have lived here, never have been this, me? I wouldn’t have a father who can’t bear the sight of me…brothers who despise me. I would have been worthy of Ellie. Knocking the soup away, making the liquid splash onto the tablecloth.
“You…” Gerry places his hand over mine, “you are worthy of her, Ash. You two are destined. She’s your perfect match. Look on the bright side, you loved your adoptive mother, right?” He takes the napkin from his collar and pats his mouth.
“I really did.”
“You wouldn’t have had that special time with her if all had turned out as planned. You may never have wanted to be a doctor…”
“I guess. What happened to this Glenda woman?”
“She was stripped of her title and her magic. Sent to live out her days in another realm.”
“Another realm? No don’t.” I put my hand up. “I’m not ready for that. And the prince? What happened to the guy meant to be my dad?”
“The memories of your mother were taken from him. He was given another chance, another story. He’s happy now.” Gerry squeezes my hand under his. “And as for your birth mother, she’s still out there somewhere wondering everyday how you are.”
“She wasn’t given the choice of having her memories wiped?”
“Yes. She refused it. She wanted to remember you. She still loves you, Ash.”
“I need time to clear my head.” I pull my hand away. “Fairies, magic…this is all too much right now.”
“I understand. This is a lot to take in.” Gerry stands.
“Before you go, change it back. The bed, the table…all of it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s all great, but it will never really be mine. Besides, if those cops outside come in here; won’t it look slightly suspicious? How do I explain it? Won’t I look guilty?”
“I guess so.” He clicks his fingers and my barn is just a barn again.
“A life like that is too good to be true,” I sigh, thinking of Ellie smiling at me with that beautiful, gappy grin and hauntingly, sad eyes.
“Some things are simply destined. Remember that.” I turn to respond, but he’s vanished.
* * * *
Laying down, my mind is reeling. There’s zero chance of sleeping with everything that’s happened, and with everything that’s yet to come. Gerry is a frickin’ fairy and my birth mother is still out there somewhere waiting for me. The woman I love has been taken from me. My head is buzzing with white noise.
The creaking of wood and a scuffling sound breaks me from my moping. I stand. It seems to be coming from my hidden escape route. Guess it’s not so secret any more. I tread lightly and peer around the hay bale wall, shocked when I see who’s crawling through.
“You!” I lean down grabbing him roughly by the shirt collar. “What the hell are you doing here?” I drag him to his feet, pushing him hard against the wall. Scrunching his shirt in my hands, ready to strangle the truth out of his smarmy, pointy face. “Talk fast or I’ll knock the crap out of you. Those cops outside will be welcome to you when I’m done.” I growl an inch from his face, my hands gripping tighter.
“Ashes, wait!” Jack pleads. “Wait okay? Just hear me out?”
“And why the hell would I do that?”
“Because I’m here aren’t I? I didn’t have to come…please?” He raises his brows and I push him into the wall once more before letting go.
“Yes.”
“Is she okay? If you’ve laid a finger on her, if any of you have, I’ll hunt you all down before the cops do.” I step in closer to him; he turns his face and closes his eyes. “You tried to shoot me!”
“I only fired because I knew how bad he was hurting you. I knew he’d stop.”
“Yeah, right. Good excuse.” I roll my eyes.
“Ashes, please just listen.” He dares to look at me.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Ash, please…I’m here to help. I swear it.”
“Swear on our mother’s grave.”
“I do.”
“I’ll give you five minutes.” I cross my arms. “Make it count. I’m in a really, really bad mood. See, these arseholes have taken the woman I love. That’s sort of pissed me off.”
“You…you really love her?” He frowns.
“Yeah. But you haven’t come for gossip. Continue.”
“But you’ve only known her for about a week…I thought you were just sayin
g it in hopes that Bruno would back down.”
“When you say it like that, it does sound ridiculous, but I just know. We can’t help how we feel.” I shrug. “Now get to the point.”
“You’re right...we can’t help how we feel.” He sighs so deeply that I think he may cry.
“Four minutes.”
“Right, yeah.” He scratches his greasy hair. I notice how scruffy he’s looking, usually he only leaves the house looking nothing but immaculate. “I want to help.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch. I really want, need to help you.”
“You hate me. Why would you help me?”
“I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you,” he whispers.
“No? Well you have a damn funny way of showing it.” I cough on my laughter.
“Really, Ash. I don’t… couldn’t hate you.” I swear for a moment there’s tears in his eyes. “Look, Bruno really wants to hurt you. The money’s a bonus. You are his endgame.”
“Why? Why? What did I ever do to him that turned him into this?”
“Truth is he was obsessed with Katie.”
“Katie Pickles? That was ages ago.”
“She was the only girl that was ever nice to him.”
“Nice out of sympathy.” I add.
“Maybe. I mean, let’s face it he’s never been quite right has he?” Jack scratches his neck until it’s bright red. “There’s always been something off about him.”
“So, you’re saying he had a crush on my ex and now he wants to hurt me? Seriously, he never stood a chance with her.”
“You know that. I know that, but he really thought that one day she’d be his. And then he caught you two half-naked and he just snapped, I guess.” Jack glances up with a slight blush to his cheeks. “I guess he turned off his emotions, but not his hate for you.”
“Wow. That’s so…sad. I mean, as a kid he used to love pulling wings off butterflies and legs off spiders, but this? I didn’t expect this.”
“I know. I thought he’d get over it.” He looks at his feet. “I’m sorry.”